See It And Sign It Game

See It And Sign It Game
Ages: 5 and up
This is a game that helps people to learn American Sign Language. This would be a great game for any child who is interested in learning ASL. Classmates and siblings of deaf children will have a fun way to learn to communicate. It could also be especially beneficial for children who have trouble with verbal communication, or children who are nonverbal. First of all, unlike with most games, a nonverbal person will not be at a disadvantage... everyone will be using their hands and bodies. Second of all, it can give the person a new way to communicate, as they begin learning simple ASL words that they can use in their everyday lives. I want to learn ASL, and I'd love to try this game, even though it is marketed to children! It also comes with a DVD to help you learn.

Yottsugo

Yottsugo
Ages: 12 and up
Number of players: 1 or more
This is a fun word game that you can play by yourself, or while collaborating with others. You select a clue card that gives you 16 letters. Each letter is on a puzzle piece. When put together right, the letters will be in a 4X4 grid that will work out to spell four words across and four words down. However, if you are having trouble solving the puzzle, you can unfold part of the clue card. Each time you unfold the card, a flap gives you a clue for how to solve the puzzle... it might give you clues to some of the words used, or the locations of a few of the letters. It is simple, yet challenging! I am adding this to my Christmas list!

The Art Of Conversation

The Art Of Conversation
Ages: 8 and up
I know that many adults with autism spectrum disorders do not enjoy making small talk. (By small talk, I mean, the meaningless conversations people have with acquaintances, like "How are you?" and "So, nice weather we're having," and "What do you do for a living?") And I don't think we're the only ones... there must be plenty of others out there who would rather avoid it! For this reason, people may choose to avoid going to social gatherings where they'll be expected to talk with people they don't know well... for instance, a dinner party the neighbors are throwing. With these cards, you can skip over the small talk, and get right to actual conversation by answering thought-provoking questions. It comes with a booklet that gives suggestions for how to use the cards. They are meant for adults, but  the reviews I've read said that the questions on the cards are family-friendly and that they've been used with children as young as 8 being part of the group. I'd like to buy these... it sounds kind of like the Ungame!

PS... If you are looking for a similar game that could be used with younger children, or people with more limited conversational skills, try these: Chat Pack For Kids,  or Melissa And Doug Family Dinner Box Of Questions.

Hide And Seek Safari

Hide And Seek Safari
Ages: 4 and up
Number of players: 2 or more
I first came across this game several years ago when I was a full time caregiver to three children under the age of 7. They had a blast with this game, and it entertained them for quite a while! It is sort of like the game of "hotter-colder," but more high tech. The way you play is, one person hides the animal somewhere in the house or yard or whatever area you're playing in. Then someone else uses the wand to find the tiger. The wand has five lights on it. When you start getting a little closer to the tiger, one light will turn green. The closer you get, the more lights will turn green. When you get really, really close to the tiger, it will start beeping!
The only annoying thing is that it only comes with one wand, so really only two people can play at a time,,, the one hiding the object, and the one looking for it. Of course, you could take turns. You can also buy an extra wand or two.

They also have a version for littler kids, or those who have trouble understanding the lights on the wands for the first game. In Hide And Seek Safari JR, one person hides an animal, and the other person tries to find it using a wand. But instead of using a light system, this game uses sound. When the wand starts to get close to the stuffed animal, the animal "hears" it and starts to make noise. The player then follows the noise in order to find the stuffed animal! This version could probably be understood and played by children as young as 2 years old.



Watch this video to see the Hide and Seek Safari game reviewed by a 6-year-old named Hayden!

Animal Soundtracks
Ages: 4 and up
Number of players: 1 to 4
I like the sound of this game! This is like a BINGO game, where you cover up pictures of animals as they are called. But instead of  hearing the name of the animal, or seeing a picture of the animal, you hear the sound of the animal on a CD! I'm guessing you put the CD on shuffle so that they are not called in the same order every time. This requires kids to use their listening skills to identify the animal and then find the right picture. No reading skills required! This game can be planed alone or with other players.

Dinosaurs Extinct? Board Game

Dinosaurs Extinct?
Ages: 3 and up
Number of Players: 2 to 4
This is a typical board game in that you use pawns, roll a die, and go a certain amount of spaces on a board. Some of the spaces contain an event that could have happened in a dinosaur's lifetime, such as a volcano, a meteorite, or an attack by another dinosaur. The event spaces have a number on them, and when you land on that number you have to roll the die again. If you roll a number higher than the one on the space, you have to flip up a section of a picture of your dinosaur, revealing one of his bones. If this happens to you three times, you get sent back to the beginning of the game. You might also have to have a battle with another dinosaur (by rolling a die and seeing who gets the higher number) if you both land on the same space. To win, you have to be the first to make it all the way to the end of the game!
This game seems to be most popular with the under-6 crowd. However, older dinosaurs might enjoy it too!

Dino Meal Game

Dino Meal Game
Ages: 4 and up
Number of players: 2 to 4
This game is somewhat on the same premises of "Don't Wake Daddy"... remember, that old game where you have to push an alarm clock button a certain number of times, and hope that this time the Daddy doesn't pop up out of bed? In the Dino Meal game, the object is to rescue stolen dinosaur eggs from a sleeping dinosaur's nest. You're supposed to use tweezers to extract the eggs from under a leaf. (Some reviews say that the tweezers are difficult to use, and it may be easier to reach in with your fingers if your child struggles with fine motor skills.) At any moment, the dinosaur might roar and lunge forward as you lift up the leaf! Warning: Some children might not like the startling aspect of the dinosaur lunging unexpectedly. (I watched one review video where the parents forced their bawling children to play the game... the kids were scared of the dinosaur!) Other children will be delighted by it. You just have to know your child and what they like. It might help to let them watch you play alone until the dinosaur does lunge and roar, so that they can see what it will look and sound like.
Here is a video of some children who seemed to be enjoying the dinosaur game, including the fun of being startled by the dinosaur!

Space Spinner Game

Space Spinner
Ages: 6 and up
Number of players: 2-4
This game involves putting small balls into a flying saucer, and then spinning the spinner so fast that the balls fly out and land inside a rocket ship. The first person to get all of their balls inside the rocket ship is the winner.
I was befuddled by the description of this game, so I had to look up more information. I found a video where someone demonstrates the game at the 2014 Toy Fair, and now it makes much more sense to me! The game uses centrifugal force, that helpful law of gravity that keeps you from falling out of the Gravitron at the carnival. You have one ball on the platform, you start spinning your saucer over the ball to get the ball captured inside it, and then you have to keep spinning your saucer to get the ball over to the rocket ship, where you can drop it in. Only one person can drop a ball in at a time, so you have to race with others to get your ball over there.

The only problem I can see with this game is that, if you have kids who have trouble with "sportsmanship" or handling frustration and anger, this could quickly escalate. I can see all of those little arms shoving each other out of the way, until one is pulling the other's hair, and it's all fun and games until someone gets hurt! BUT it still definitely looks like a cool game. If your child does have trouble handling competitive games, maybe you could start by playing it alone with him, so he can practice with someone who is understanding and accepting and won't hit him back. I'd really like to try this game. It looks intriguing! Watch this video to see for yourself.

The Ungame

The Ungame
Ages: 4 and up
Number of Players: 2-6
I am putting this game on here because I used to love to play it. But, fair warning - Nobody else liked to play it with me. I used to have to beg people to play. This is probably why I haven't played it in quite a while. If you are a parent, though, this game would be a great one for family bonding and getting to know your children better!
Why is this called the Ungame? Basically, because there are no winners or losers, and there is no specific starting spot or ending spot. You can literally just keep going around and around until you get tired of talking to each other.
When it is your turn, you roll the dice, and go that many spaces on the board. The space you land on will either tell you to draw a card, or do something else. If you draw a card, it usually has an open-ended question like, "When do you get angry?" or "If you got $5,000 in the mail, how would you use it?" or "What do you think life will be like 100 years from now?" (In my game there were two decks, one for light-hearted questions and one for more serious questions. You could either choose which deck you wanted to play with, or mix them together.)
While it is your turn and you are talking, nobody is allowed to interrupt, comment, ask questions, etc.
If you land on a "Question/Comment" space, you get to ask anyone in the group a question, or make a comment to any of them. It has to be something kind, though... so you can't turn to your little brother and say, "My comment is, you're a jerk." Not cool, man! Not cool!
Another space you might land on is "If you." It will say something like, "If you felt happy today, go to the Happy Zone." (That isn't really what it is called... I can't actually remember. But something like that. Also different versions of the board have different areas.)
The last type of space you might land on is "Do your own thing," where you can just do anything... tell a joke, make a funny face, do a somersault, or whatever.
This game promotes communication and listening skills, and helps everyone get to know each other. Your children will get the chance to learn things about you, like your favorite childhood pet, or what household chore you'd give anything not to have to do. And you will get to learn things about them as well!
I feel like going and getting the Ungame to play it right now. Too bad I can't find anyone to play it with me!

Crazy Legs Game

Crazy Legs
Ages: 4 and up
Number of Players: 2 to 4
No more sitting around being lazy while you play a board game! This game involves using your whole body! Like most board games, you move your pawn around the board and try to be the first one to get to FINISH. Unlike most board games, many of the spaces will require either the player whose turn it is, or everyone playing the game, to do some sort of action. The actions may be exercises, yoga poses, or goofy things like "Crazy Dance" or "Do the wave."
One way to play is that, when it is your turn and you get assigned an exercise or yoga pose, you have to keep doing that action until the next time it is your turn. This keeps all of the players in motion for most of the game!
The winner is still the person who makes it to FINISH first. But when kids get this much exercise, everyone wins!

Bellz Game

Bellz
Ages: 6 and up
Number of Players: 2 to 4
This is a game that is fun for the whole family, and different from most games I've seen! The game consists of wands with magnets on them, and magnetic bells of different colors. When it is your turn, you have to use the wand to pick up as many bells of a certain color as you can... but you can't put down any of the bells! You can make a string of bells or a cluster or whatever you want. The only catch is you can't accidentally pick up any bells of another color. So, if you are supposed to be getting green bells, and a red one accidentally sticks to your wand, your turn is over! This can be a good way of practicing fine motor skills and patience. The game board actually doubles as a carrying case for all the bells, so you can easily take it with you on trips to the doctor's office, or wherever, to play while you wait!

Magic Moves Electronic Wand

Magic Moves Electronic Wand
Ages: 3 to 10
When a child picks up this wand, you never know what they're going to end up doing! Accompanied by music and lights, this wand gives out directions for movements that will get kids exercising without realizing it! They'll also be enriching their vocabularies and practicing their listening skills. One child can play alone, or a leader can hold the wand while a group of children follow the directions. Watch a little boy named Max try his out!

Whats Inside? Feely Box

Whats Inside? Soft Feely Box
Ages: 2 and up
This is a toy that is meant to help children pay attention to their senses. One person (probably an adult, at least at first) hides something (either one of the little objects that comes with it, or another small object from your own house) inside the box. The other player then has to stick their hand into the opening on the side of the box and, using only their sense of touch, try to guess what the object is.
For beginning players, or players with limited speech ability, what I would do would be to print out choice cards with pictures of the possible items. The child could then choose the picture that they think matches the object in the box. You could start out by just offering the child two choices (the correct item and a second item) and then making it harder by adding more and more choices.
Because of the fact that you can add your own small objects, the opportunities for this game are endless! I have seen this used a lot by speech pathologists, and it is always a big hit with kids.

Word A Round Game

Word A Eound
Ages: 10 and up
This game is for anyone who loves words and reading. You may think you're a great reader, but what if, instead of being arranged left to right, the letters of a word were arranged in a circle, with no clear beginning or end? Would you still be able to read it? It may be trickier than you thought! In this game, players race to be the first one to decipher each word.
Here, give it a try. See how quickly you can read the words in the three rings on the top circle in this picture!

Telepathy Board Game

Telepathy
Ages: 9 and up
Number of players: 2 to 4
If you liked Battleship, then this game is for you! (Don't worry, you don't need to be psychic.) The game is designed as a grid, with different colored squares, and a symbol in each square. A player needs to figure out the other player's row, column, color and symbol, by asking yes or no questions and using deductive reasoning.  It sounds like fun to me!

Prime Climb

Prime Climb
Ages: 8 to adult
Players: 2 - 4
This game seems like an advanced version of "Sorry!" The rules are similar... You move around the board, bump other players back to "Start," and try to be the first to get both of your pawns to the end. But instead of simply drawing a number and moving that many spaces, players need to add, subtract, multiply and divide.

No Stress Chess

No Stress Chess
Ages: 6 to adult
Number of players; 2
Do you know a kid who you think would just love the game of chess... but you don't really know how to play, or how to teach it to someone else? This chess game guides you along and teaches you how to play step by step. Players draw from a deck of cards. Each card specifies a chess piece and tells you about the different moves it can make. You then use that piece and choose a move to make. Before long, you'll be able to play without the help of the cards! Here is a video demo about how the game works.

Smarty Blocks

 Smarty Blocks
Ages - 2 to 8
Players: 1-4
This is a logic came for littler players, that also teaches reading, number concepts, spatial acuity, patterns, and more. Children complete leveled challenges, from simple (stacking blocks to recreate a pattern on a picture) to advanced (thinking of a word that ends with a specific letter and finding the correct blocks to spell the word.) Even children who are not ready for the actual challenges can enjoy these blocks by using them like regular blocks, or by practicing color recognition, letter recognition, and counting with an adult. Kids can play this alone, or challenge others.

Camelot Junior, by Smart Games

Camelot Jr. 
Ages: 4 to 9
Number of Players: 1 or more
This game requires players to follow directions in order to build a bridge that will reunite a knight and a princess. The only thing I don't like about this game is that is based on the traditional fairy tale theme of a knight rescuing "his" princess. But you can always say that the knight and princess are best friends who haven't seen each other in a while... or have the princess rescue the knight!